


Safe

by MaddieandChimney



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Domestic Violence References, F/M, Mentions of Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24899092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: After a traumatic call, Chimney leaves his shift early because he needs to see his girlfriend.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17
Collections: Madney One-Shots





	Safe

It doesn’t matter how hard he tries; his hands won’t stop shaking and the tightening in his chest is only increasing with every second. He hates everything about how the moment his eyes close the image of the battered and bleeding woman is replaced with Maddie. His beautiful, kind, loving girlfriend who could have so easily been the woman he and Hen had fought so hard to save that day.

Honestly, he knew so little of her life with Doug, he couldn’t help but wonder how many times an ambulance had to be called out for her. If a paramedic ever thought she wasn’t going to make it.

It’s not what he should be thinking of, he knows that – he should be focusing on the next patient they’ll have to treat but it’s completely consuming him. Maddie isn’t dead, she’s very much alive and very much dating him and it’s wonderful and exciting and nothing has ever felt so right in his entire life but he’s imagining a hundred different scenarios in which she could have so easily been the woman in an ambulance dying. Dead.

He can barely remember telling Hen he just needed a moment alone, just to breathe – they’re scarcely two hours into their shift and he already feels as though it’s been an eternity. Not for the first time in his life, a moment turns out to be _much_ longer when he practically runs from the firehouse when no one is looking. He doesn’t even have time to consider his options, to even think about the ramifications when Bobby realises he’s just run out on a shift.

There’s at least ten times when he could have turned around and probably when he should have gone back to work, to his friends who were probably worried about him. But he needed to escape, he needed to hold Maddie even if it was only for a minute, just to make sure she was okay. It was stupid, illogical, maybe even the closest to crazy he’s ever been but every single fibre of his being was telling him he needed to be with Maddie.

He was lucky, it was her day off and he knew exactly what she planned on doing – relaxing on her couch in her new apartment, binge watching Greys Anatomy so Josh would finally stop making references she didn’t understand. It seems to take forever to finally find himself knocking on her apartment door, trying to calm himself down when she takes a little bit too long to answer. Chimney tries so hard to suppress the urge to slam down harder and faster on the door in an attempt to get her attention, his fist moving once more to knock before the door swings open, “Chimney? Aren’t you meant to be in work?”

The look on his face must give him away, the way his entire body is shaking, just looking her up and down. “B-Buck?” Of course, that’s where her head would go because why else would her boyfriend be standing at her door looking as though he’s about to burst into tears, in the middle of a work day? He hates himself for the way her bottom lip is quivering, and her eyes fill with tears, before he can shake his head. Just as his mind had gone to the Maddie place the moment he had seen the bruised face of the woman, hers had gone to her brother being dead place. He couldn’t blame her – it wouldn’t be the first time the younger Buckley had gotten himself into a mess.

“N-no… not Buck.” The words finally come, and the distinct sound of Maddie’s phone buzzing can be heard on the kitchen counter behind her. They both look over, for just a second until she ignores it and her eyes move back to him. Maddie is waiting for him to say something, when her phone goes off again, and he knows it’s his friends calling her, wondering where he is. He’s amazed at her stubbornness because she hasn’t moved an inch, _waiting_ for her boyfriend to speak.

“Not Buck. Me. Needed to see you…” The air is tight, the world is spinning and he’s sure it’ll remain that way until… his arms wrap tightly around her. “S-she d-died, couldn’t… couldn’t save her.” He’s not making sense but her arms pull him into the apartment anyway, closing the door behind them before her hands grip tightly onto his uniform. He can see why she panicked – how much of a mess he must have looked, turning up at her door still in his uniform, about ready to burst into tears.

The moment her phone stops vibrating, it starts again but when she moves to finally answer it, he holds her even tighter, pulling her until their bodies are flush together. “Kept… k-kept seeing y-you, c-can’t imagine, s-so sorry, sorry.” The sobs wrack his body, his face hiding in her neck, hands moving over her back and then up through her hair until he pulls back so he can look at her and just _breathe_.

“Okay, baby, you left some clothes here the other night, go get changed,” She doesn’t mention the fact he has blood on him, but when he looks down, he knows it’s exactly what she’s thinking. “I need to answer my phone and I need to tell everyone that you’re safe, okay?” She’s speaking to him slowly, trying to get his attention as he continues to move his hands over her – squeezing her shoulders, then her arms, her waist, her back, moving back up to her hair as though he was trying to determine if she was real. “Please, Chimney, go get changed, take a shower if you need, I’ll still be here when you get back and we can cuddle.”

Chimney isn’t sure if he wants to let go of her, but he can see the way she’s desperately looking at her phone that is ringing yet again, and he can see Hen’s name flashing up when he glances over. “O-okay, five minutes. Only five minutes, just need to hold you.” It takes him another minute to finally let her go, his hands dropping, “Just a minute.”

Maddie takes a deep breath and nods her head in agreement, her eyes on him until he’s moving down the corridor towards her bedroom. The phone rings again, and she frowns when she answers it, “Hen? What the hell is going on?”

Maddie could tell by the panicked voice on the other end of the phone that Hen was going out of her mind. The usually level-headed woman was practically shouting down the phone to Maddie, in a complete state. Maddie could only imagine what Hen was feeling right then, imagining all of the varying situations Chimney could have gotten himself into considering how distressed he was when he turned up at her door.

“He’s safe.” Maddie knows that is all Hen needs to hear right then, despite the rambling on the other side. Those two words stop her momentarily and she hears her repeat the words out loud, and Maddie can imagine the rest of the 118 just standing around her, awaiting news.

“I-I hoped he would go to you… I just wasn’t certain. He’s there, he’s safe?” Hen sounds terrified and it breaks her heart as she nods her head and then voices it over the phone. Waiting for the sound of heavy, panicked breathing to calm down before she takes her own deep breath.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t know if you want to hear it Maddie, it’s not…” The voice trails off and Maddie knows it has to be bad; after all, Chimney just showed up on her doorstep barely two hours into his shift, still dressed in his uniform and looking as though his entire world had just fallen apart.

She doesn’t know if what she is saying is true, but the words come out anyway, “I can handle it. Just tell me so I can be there for him. I can’t get any sense out of him at the moment.”

“I-It was just… a rough call. A woman and her boyfriend, h-he had… _hurt_ her and we couldn’t save her. We tried everything but she was too far gone and it was just a little too much for Chimney. It was too much for me but he… he told me he needed a moment, he headed towards the bunks so I left him. And then I realised he was gone.”

Maybe Hen was right, maybe she didn’t want to hear it but it was too late now and she wanted to be there for her boyfriend. She may have lived that life with Doug but she had allowed his over-active imagination to run wild when it came to everything that happened. She shared so much limited information, afraid of the pity in his eyes. “I’ve got him. I promise… I’ll text you later when you’re done with work. Let you know how he’s doing. I promise I’ll look after him, Hen.”

“Thank you, Maddie. Tell him it’s okay. Don’t let him hide.” Maddie takes a deep breath when she hangs up the phone and looks over towards the closed bedroom door, chewing on her lip before she nods – he was going to be okay.


End file.
